Indoor Mathew Street Festival impresses fans

Aug 27 2007 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

THE Mathew Street Festival got off the ground yesterday, despite its famous outdoor stages being pulled from the line-up for health and safety reasons.

Across Merseyside and Cheshire the bank holiday festivals have impressed music fans, with live events set for today in more than 50 of the city’s bars and clubs.

Saturday night’s Creamfields festival was hailed a success with world-famous headline acts of David Guetta alongside Groove Armada, Kelis, LCD Soundsystem, Mark Ronson, Carl Cox and Erick Morillo playing to 40,000 people at the Daresbury site.

Today will now see the Mathew Street events step up a gear with live acts playing at dozens of venues including The Cavern, TP Malloys on Victoria Street and Lennons on Mathew Street. Yesterday, fans were positive about the festival although many said they missed the outdoor side of the event, which was cancelled with just weeks to go.

Julie Ellis, from West Derby, said: “There are not as many people here as usual so the atmosphere isn’t as good – but I am still enjoying myself. It is a shame there are no outdoor stages because it has stopped raining and the weather is quite nice.”

But the loss of the outdoor area did not bother Ben Hunter, from Warrington, who has been coming to the festival for some years.

He said: “I prefer it this year, the bands in the pubs are always the best ones and it is less manic than previous years. Sometimes it gets unbearably busy.

“I’m having a great time.”

Jason Harborow, chief executive of the Liverpool Culture Company, said last night: “We are all extremely pleased that the festival got off to a good start.

“People are joining in the festival mood. We are hoping for a successful bank holiday Monday.”

Mr Harborow also thanked the entertainers and venues involved in staging the event.

Police turned out in force at the Creamfields festival but received no reports of any serious crimes and no arrests were made.

A spokesman said: “Due to meticulous planning and a high profile police presence almost 40,000 people were able to enjoy the event safely and we would like to thank the organisers, festival goers and local residents for their cooperation.”

Extra officers were drafted in to police the event, many of them responsible for implementing the traffic management plan.

Clubbers arrived in cars and buses at the new Creamfields site in the little Cheshire village of Daresbury from 3pm onwards on Saturday.

On site, there was plenty to keep the crowds entertained, with the Main Stage field heavily populated.

Nancy Evans, 28, from Warrington, said: “I’m having a fantastic time, the line-up is the best it’s been for years, there’s no aggro and everybody is just having a really fun time.”

FOR full listings of Mathew Street events, go to http://www. liverpool08.com /Liverpools800th/ MathewStreetFestival/index.asp

OPINION: PAGE 10

lizawilliams